The Countdown Begins!!!!

Alright all you ghouls!  The haunting season is officially upon us and the Mr. has officially deemed it appropriate to start setting out decorations as of today.  A bit of organizing happened this afternoon. Tomorrow, I have the niece for an afternoon of pizza and skeeball (my favorite!) but later in the day I have plenty of work to do.

I have already planned the front yard and the back yard and house are in the final planning stages. 

I've joined the Countdown to Hallowe'en again this year and therefore am going to try to get a post a day up about the progress of this year's party and decor.

Happy Hallowe'en month everyone!!!

Happy Autumnal Equinox!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!!!  Things start turning orange and yellow and red. The mornings are crisper and apples are ripe for picking and making into tarts and cider. I feel more alive in autumn than any other time of the year!!!!

Renewal

Deep breaths.

This is my absolute favorite time of the year.

Soon it will be Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the Jewish new year, a time for renewal and the beginning of the harvest season. Summer is coming to an end, along with the oppressive heat, the wilted leaves and the slow, tired days. Soon we will have crisp mornings with our breaths in the air, apples and pomegranates ripening on trees and a season of hard work that feels like abundance.  This year, some of the old stuff that has been weighing me down is slowly lifting and I am feeling the lightness.

The new year brings all kinds of changes. I have been very busy planning the new farm. I have been plotting out the yard and making room for all of the ideas I have.  Of course, I don't quite have room for everything, but that is probably for the best. Additionally, the fall will bring Hallowe'en, my favorite holiday, which I am very busy planning.  Finally, I am starting a new job this month, still at UCLA but working more in the community. I am very excited and looking forward to training my replacement.

More updates to come (and more frequently, I hope!)

The sweetest posts I've ever read.

I couldn't help but share these with you.  They made me tear up, not just a little, a lot. 

I'm not excerpting or giving teasers because I think you should read all of these, in order, without delay.  I was just filled with joy. I think you will be too.


Mommy, they are just like me.

The follow up.

And the other follow up.

If you don't have a tear in your eye, you are dead to me.

The simplificationing continues...

Inspired by my last post, I went on the hunt for more stuff to get rid of. Primarily, this is:

• stuff that I thought I could use but ended up not using, 
• stuff I was given that I never needed, 
• stuff I used but didn't need anymore and 
• stuff I haven't used in a while and probably won't anytime soon.

Included in this stuff is:

• Ten tons (or so) of my grandparents, aunts and other distant relatives silverplate which I understand is worth nothing and I'm afraid that if I take it to a pawn shop they'll laugh at me. What do I do with silverplate?  Anyone?
• An entire set of Sango Sheffield china and champagne glasses and wine glasses that my grandparents got for their 50th anniversary which was sometime in the very, very early 80's
• About 10 cookbooks that I thought I'd use but ended up not using or used to use but don't anymore
• Some hat blocks that I haven't used and likely won't
• Craft supplies, including yarn, that despite my best intentions, have not been knitted into actual items of use

I'd actually like to get rid of more. Here's the problem.  I actually use a lot of my stuff!  I'd love to clean out more of my kitchen but I actually use all of the baking pans and platters and bowls because I entertain fairly frequently.

Everything worth anything is going up on ebay this week.  Other than the silverplate. Can anyone help me with this one????

The simple life

Every so often, I get a bug.  I don't know where exactly it comes from or where it goes, but a couple of times a year, I purge my stuff like I was moving to a monastery. Or a nunnery. Or whatever the equivalent might be for a Jew. Which there isn't, but that's not really the point.  The point is, I got on a kick last night.

When I started, I was just kind of wondering what riches I had in my Hallowe'en drawer.

In my craft room/office, I have a Hallowe'en drawer. It is not like the Garage of Dread. The Garage of Dread is filled to the rafters with tombstones and coffins and body parts and rotten fencing. The Hallowe'en drawer is just a little drawer full of stamps and carving tools and stickers and other small items. So I went looking for treasure.

After I took down the Hallowe'en drawer, I took down the ribbon drawer.  Then the paper drawer and the sewing supplies drawer. Eventually, the entire Wall of Craft came into the living room and onto the floor. It needed to be organized. Cleansed.  I guess they still wouldn't let me take my Wall of Craft to the nunnery...stupid nunneries, but it is organized.

I wound up with a bag of craft supplies that is going directly to the Downtown Women's Shelter.

Last week I cleansed my bookshelves. Here's what I realized. 

1. There are always going to be more books.
2. I do not have room for the books I already own, much less the books I want to own.
3. I need to get rid of books.

The Burbank Public Library was the beneficiary of my need for purification.

I love simplicity. I also love my things. I love my Cupcake Couriers and my collection of hats. I liked owning the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and Lysistrata and the entire oeuvre of Edith Wharton, but I was willing to part with them knowing that I can get them on Kindle for free. I like having a Be-Dazzler, but to be honest, I really don't use it and can't imagine the next time I will...goodbye Be-Dazzler. It was fun while it lasted.

Perhaps this weekend I will end up organizing the Garage of Dread. Those rotting fence posts aren't smelling any better and besides, I need some space for my worms.

Harvest, Hallowe'en and Photo drama

Goals were meant to be broken, right?  That's how that cliche goes, isn't it? No?  Well, it is now.

I haven't posted because I haven't been taking pictures!!!!  I hate posting pictures because it involves a bunch of wires and downloading and crap.  Tell me how to do this more easily and I'll do it more often!!!!  Damn it all to hell... I have a Kodak z712. I take pictures, then I have to plug in my camera into the computer. Then I have to go to the folder for the camera and move the photos into the blog folder on my computer. Then I have to resize all of the photos that I want to use because they're usually too big. First world problems make my head hurt....

Anyway, I have been harvesting a crapload of tomatoes.  They are just loving this season.  In the past, I've gotten one or two, here and there.  This year I'm getting what works out to about a tomato a day.  It's awesome and they're gorgeous. They taste all fresh and tomato-ey.  Yum.  Mostly I've been eating them with cheese I got from Cowgirl Creamery in Petaluma.

On the subject of strawberries, I give up.  I have two raised beds full of strawberry plants and I think I've gotten 2 whole berries this year.  If I'm going to spend that much square footage on something, it better be something that's producing produce!  I am merciless.  The strawberries are history.

Hallowe'en is officially on the agenda.  I'm working out the sketches on the front and back yards.

I know people who know people.  If you're one of those people, I'm looking for a few things that I will need and if you know a source for borrowed (B), super cheap (SC), F-R-E-E (F), or bulk (K) let me know.  I need:

1. 10 or more wrought iron shepherd's hooks (B, SC, F, K)
2. 2 trash-worthy 5-drawer filing cabinets (5 feet tall or taller) (F, SC)
3. Pink extruded foam in sheets or blocks (where do I get this?  I can only find the white insulation which I've used for years in lieu of the stuff I really want!) (SC)
4. Fire-pit (B, SC, F)
5. LED lanterns - these will likely be painted or otherwise messed with so I don't want to borrow (SC, F, K)
6. A very large stone garden angel or two. Not necessary to match - also will likely be painted or messed with (SC, F)
7. Fabric - cheese cloth, ivory muslin, plain grey, white or black cotton or muslin, tulle (SC, F)

So if you're someone, or if you know someone or you know someone who knows someone, let me know.  It's going to be an epic Hallowe'en. EPIC.